IRS Warning Churches About Illegal Campaign Activities

The IRS says it's cracking down on churches and non-profit organizations that are involved in illegal campaign activities (h/t SmartChristian):

The Internal Revenue Service has been warning churches and nonprofit organizations that improper campaigning in the upcoming political season could endanger their tax-exempt status.

In notices to more than 15,000 tax-exempt organizations, numerous church denominations and tax preparers, the agency has detailed its new enforcement program, called the Political Activity Compliance Initiative, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

Under the initiative, the IRS plans to expedite investigations into claims of improper campaigning, no longer waiting for an annual tax return to be filed or the tax year to end before launching a probe. A three-member committee will make an initial review of complaints and then vote on whether to pursue the investigation in detail.

"While the vast majority of charities and churches do not engage in politicking, an increasing number did take part in prohibited activities in the 2004 election cycle," IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson said in a statement. "The rule against political campaign intervention by charities and churches is long established. We are stepping up our efforts to enforce it."

This could be bad news for Dem candidates. In past election cycles you could pretty much count on seeing a Democrat speaking to a black church somewhere every Sunday during the campaign, and you know there were fund raising activities as well.

And what about the NAACP? That's an organization that is required to avoid political activities in order to keep its non-profit status, and yet at every opportunity the leaders of that organization are bashing Bush and the Republicans. The did it again just yesterday at their convention in Washington. Is the IRS going to take them on too?